309 – How to Recognise Vicarious Trauma

Online Trauma Therapy – Exploring Neurodivergence Creatively in Therapy

In Episode 309 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your hosts Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly take us through this week’s three topics:

• Firstly in ‘Ethical, Sustainable Practice’, we look at online trauma therapy.
• Then in ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Amy Peters about exploring neurodiversity creatively.
• And lastly,in ‘Student Services’, Rory and Ken talk about how to recognise vicarious trauma.

Online Trauma Therapy [starts at 03:10 mins]

Online and telephone counselling have become increasingly popular in recent years, making it even more important that we’re aware of the challenges that can come from working remotely. In this section, Rory and Ken take us through some key things to be aware of when working online:

• You should look into doing some training before working online – it comes with its own challenges and considerations that don’t apply to in-person counselling.
• The DisinhibitionEffect – sometimes, people act a certain way online or say things that they wouldn’t say in a normal face-to-face interaction.
• The Black Hole Effect – what happens if a client just disappears? Was it their internet or their choice? There are more unknowns when it comes to working online, compared with working in-person.
• Fantasy Attachment – clients can build a fantasy of you in their minds. They might experience transference or fantasise about a different form of relationship with you.
• For telephone counselling, allow your client to put a face to the name by having a picture of your listing if possible. This can help minimise the risk of the disinhibition effect or fantasy attachment.
• You will need to have your client’s location and emergency contacts, ideally someone aware the client is receiving therapy – this is something you might not consider necessary for in-person therapy.
• Utilising mental health questionnaires can help a client see their own progress through the arc of their therapy.
• They can also serve as a good safety protocol to assess risk.

Click here to read more about Online Trauma Therapy

Exploring Neurodivergence Creatively in Therapy [starts at 25:21 mins]

In this week’s ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Amy Peters about exploring neurodiversity creatively.

The key points of this discussion include:

• There are still stereotypes around working with autistic and ADHD clients.
• People who are late-diagnosed/late-identified can sometimes find it hard to explore that newfound neurodivergence just by talking.
• It might be more beneficial to work with them creatively.
• Art, music, and games can transcend communication differences.
• Being able to use a client’s passions, interests, or hyperfixations can be a great way to really engage them within therapy.
• Masking – if a client has been masking for many years, there will be a lot of suppression. There might be a lot of things there to uncover during sessions.
• It can be really beneficial to use creative methods to externalise something that’s been suppressed for so long and hidden from the self.
• Russian nesting dolls can be used to look at layers of masking.
• Be flexible and open to change, what is the client comfortable with?
• Creating emotional safety within the therapy room is really important.
• Ask about and make any sensory considerations or adaptations.
• Use creativity as an outlet or relief.

How to Recognise Vicarious Trauma [starts at 41:22 mins]

In this section, Rory and Ken take us through vicarious trauma. How can we recognise it in ourselves and others and how can it impact us?

• Vicarious trauma is trauma that a helper can experience when listening to, or working with, clients with trauma.
• As a therapist, you can hear very difficult stories, and these can stick with you.
• Even the brief mention of something can bring up past experiences for you, you might even feel yourself transported back to that time.
• You can be vicariously traumatised as a family member or friend of someone who has experienced trauma.
• It’s helpful to know how to recognise vicarious trauma in both yourself and others.
• Remind the person that they are safe – try and bring them back into the here and now.
• Square breathing – steadies the nervous system.
• Engage other parts of the body through physical movement.
• Vicarious trauma can even appear if you have no similar experience with the trauma you hear about – you imagine yourself in that position and it affects you and your emotions.

Links and Resources

• Counselling Skills Academy
• Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision
• Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide
• Counsellor CPD
• Counselling Study Resource
• Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide
• Counselling Tutor Shop
• Facebook group
• Website
• Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner’s Guide
• Online and Telephone Counselling Course